From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Is there too much government secrecy? Or not enough?

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Since September 11th, federal agencies have been encouraged to tell the public less about what they're doing rather than more.

The argument is that especially in times of war, it's best to err on the side of caution.

But critics contend that too much secrecy is counterproductive and that it destroys the openness that leads to trust in representative

government. The House has passed what's called sunshine legislation. If it passes the Senate,

the White House threatens a presidential veto. On To the Point, we'll talk about privacy,

national security, and political embarrassment. Our reporter's notebook later on, Iraq's

growing humanitarian crisis. First, here's the

news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren Allie, back with To the Point. A survey shows that increasing numbers of Americans think the federal government has become cloaked in secrecy. The House has passed four so-called sunshine laws, two of which President Bush has threatened to veto if they passed the Senate. On To the Point, does secrecy destroy confidence in representative government? In times of war, is it best to err on the side of caution?

On reporter's notebook, the U.N. says the rest of the world is ignoring Iraq's millions of refugees.

First, this news update. The Senate has voted 94 to 2 to rescind the president's unilateral power to replace U.S. attorneys.

Meantime, Mr. Bush called Alberto Gonzalez this morning to reaffirm what the White House called a very

strong vote of confidence in his attorney general. Evan Perez covers the Justice Department for

the Wall Street Journal. Evan, good to have you back on our program.

Good to be here.

A White House has denied reports that the president is looking for a new attorney general.

What's the mood at the Department of Justice?

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